Africa highlights: Thursday 29 June 2017 as it happened

Summary

Nigeria dismisses stories about the cost of presidential jet in London
Benin trial over $260m pyramid scheme
Egypt government slashes petrol subsidy
South African charged for secretly filming colleague expressing breast milk
Pro-IS message published on hacked South African government website
Tanzanian NGOs aim to change president's mind on schoolgirl mums
Malawi opens Africa's first humanitarian drone corridor
Save the Children warns that 20,000 children could die following drought
Today's proverb: "When a handshake goes beyond the elbow, it becomes an insult."

Live Reporting

Paul Bakibinga and Damian Zane

SA man charged over filming a woman expressing breast milkpublished at 12:09 British Summer Time 29 June 2017
Pumza Fihlani
BBC News
A woman has taken her colleague to court for secretly filming her while expressing breast milk at her workplace, at a South African university.
The man, employed by the University of Cape Town, is alleged to have set up a live link in a private room at the institution.
The woman has written about the incident on her blog, where she described her frustration.
Quote Message
I’m so incredibly angry that the act of me providing food for my baby was sexualised in such a cowardly way. That it was sexualised at all. I’m disgusted that we live in a world where mothers, no matter how they choose to feed their children, are victimised for being vulnerable."
The man, who has been suspended from work, has appeared in court charged with crimen injuria, a crime in South Africa defined as “unlawfully, intentionally and seriously impairing the dignity of another”.
The matter has been postponed for further investigation.
Image source, iStock
Egypt makes further cuts to fuel subsidiespublished at 11:49 British Summer Time 29 June 2017
The Egyptian government has significantly increased the cost of petrol and diesel fuel. This is the second such hike since the currency was floated in November.
Petrol prices have gone up overnight by over 40%, and diesel by over 50%.
The AFP news agency says the removal of fuel subsidies are part of a strict IMF supported reform programme.
By contrast, a week ago President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced extra funding for food subsidies, pensions and the provision of a social safety net.
Analysts say that food and energy subsidies take up a quarter of state spending.
Image source, AFP
US celebrates deal to cut UN peacekeeping budgetpublished at 11:25 British Summer Time 29 June 2017
UN members have agreed a deal to cut $0.5bn (£0.4bn) off the organisation's projected peacekeeping budget, which is due to be voted on later today by the Security Council.
That amounts to about 6% of the planned total of $7.87bn.
This could affect several UN peacekeeping missions in Africa, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan's Darfur region and South Sudan.
The plan was to spend $1.2bn in DR Congo (Monusco), $1bn in Darfur (Unamid) and $1.1bn in South Sudan (Unmiss). But it is not clear whether these missions will lose any money.
The US's ambassador to the UN tweeted about how pleased she was that the budget was cut, hinting that more cuts are likely:
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And there has been some criticism of the tweet:
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Although some have come to her defence:
Widows of executed Nigeria activists seek compensation from Shellpublished at 11:19 British Summer Time 29 June 2017
Martin Patience
BBC News, Nigeria correspondent
Widows of four of the nine men executed by Nigeria’s military regime in 1995 have a filed a civil lawsuit in The Hague, Netherlands, accusing Royal Dutch Shell of alleged complicity in a military crackdown.
The deaths of the men - known as the Ogoni nine - provoked an international outcry.
The lawsuit accuses the oil giant of providing support to the military, which ultimately led to the execution of the men
The best known of whom was Ken Saro-Wiwa. He led huge protests against the widespread environmental damage caused by oil production in the Niger Delta.
The widows, supported by Amnesty International, external, have brought this civil case demanding an apology and unspecified compensation.
Shell, the largest oil producer in Nigeria, has repeatedly denied any involvement in the executions.
In a statement the oil giant said it did not collude with the authorities to suppress unrest and in no way encouraged or advocated any act of violence in Nigeria.
The oil giant has faced multiple lawsuits in various countries relating to the executions.
Eight years ago, it agreed to an out of court settlement in the US to pay more than $15m (£12m) to a group of the men’s relatives.
Image source, Amnesty International
Image caption,
Esther Kiobel is one the Ogoni widows suing Shell
See more from BBC On This Day
White House sets out visa criteria for Trump travel banpublished at 10:43 British Summer Time 29 June 2017
The White House has set new criteria for visa applicants from six mainly Muslim countries - including three in Africa - and all refugees, requiring them to have a "close" family or business tie to the US.
The rules, affecting people from Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Iran and Syria come into force on Thursday.
They were issued after the Supreme Court partially restored President Donald Trump's travel ban.
The controversial executive order had been blocked by lower courts.
According to the new rules, confirmed to the BBC, for the next 90 days those without a close relationship - defined as a parent, spouse, child, son or daughter-in-law, or sibling - will not be able to enter the US.
Also exempt from the new rules are those with business or educational ties to the United States.
For more read:Trump travel ban: US sets out visa criteria
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
President Donald Trump says the ban in interest of national security
SA's Van Niekerk breaks Johnson's 300m world recordpublished at 10:23 British Summer Time 29 June 2017
South African Olympic champion Wayde van Niekerk has won the 300m to break Michael Johnson's world record at the Golden Spike meeting in the Czech Republic.
He set a time of 30.81 seconds
This was the second time that Van Niekerk has broken a Johnson record. He set a new 400m world record when he won gold at the Rio Olympics.
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Meanwhile Olympic legend Usain Bolt won the 100m at the event despite a slow start.
When asked whether Van Niekerk was his probable successor Bolt replied: "Yeah for sure. I think he really wants to be a sprinter because he's set a personal best in the 100m this year," AFP news agency reports.
The goal of Kenya's two-time 800m Olympic champion David Rudisha to win the rarely run 1000m did not go to plan.
He came fourth in the race, which was won by his fellow country man Nicholas Kipkoech.
IS sympathiser hacks SA government sitepublished at 10:08 British Summer Time 29 June 2017
Pumza Fihlani
BBC News
Officials in South Africa are investigating who hacked the government's Basic Education Department website.
The hackers, who identified themselves as Team System Dz, posted graphic images on the page on Wednesday night which included images of decapitated corpses, some of whom are children.
The site is now unreachable but a Google search shows up a message which says: "A message to the government, the American people and the rest of the world. Is this the humanity that you claim, or is life irrelevant...".
Image source, Google
The department says the message goes on to say: "Do not imagine that these actions against Muslims will pass you and we will forget what you did to the Arab and Muslim peoples all over the world.”
It adds a message of sympathy with so-called Islamic State.
The department has since taken down the website and is working with security officials to investigate the breach and to rebuild the site.
It is not clear at this stage if Team System Dz has direct links to any extremist group.
Pregnant girls 'are not immoral'published at 09:16 British Summer Time 29 June 2017
Sammy Awami
BBC Africa, Dar es Salaam
A coalition of 25 Tanzanian civil society organisations have called on President John Magufuli to change his stance on whether schoolgirl mothers can return to school.
Last week, President Magufuli told a rally that, in accordance with Tanzanian law, mothers do not belong in school.
"After getting pregnant, you are done," he said.
At a press conference in Dar es Salaam the organisations said girls who get pregnant at school are neither immoral nor criminal, and it is the father of the child who needs to be punished.
In a statement they said:
Quote Message
Young girls face more challenges in accessing education than young boys even without the question of expulsion for pregnancy.
Quote Message
Most of these young girls have already suffered, denying them the right to continue with their education adds to their hardship", a group statement reads."
They added that the government can learn from neighbouring countries like Kenya or even the semi-autonomous Tanzanian island of Zanzibar, where since 2010 girls have been allowed back into school after giving birth as a strategy to reduce the number of school dropouts.
The government has also threatened to de-register any NGO which campaigns to change the law on banning teenage mothers from returning to school.
Read more: Tanzania teenage mother: We need Magufuli's support not criticism
Twenty thousand Somali children in danger of 'dying from drought'published at 09:00 British Summer Time 29 June 2017
BBC World Service
At least 20,000 children are at risk of dying in Somalia due to severe drought, the aid organisation Save the Children, external has warned.
It says that according to a new survey it conducted with two other charities it found that acute malnutrition cases had skyrocketed in nearly half of the nine districts assessed.
Save the Children is calling on the international community to provide life-saving aid to Somalia.
The warning comes days after the UN children's agency, Unicef, said severe drought in the country had led to a huge increase in the number of children contracting measles.
Image source, AFP
Malawi launches humanitarian drone servicepublished at 08:57 British Summer Time 29 June 2017
BBC World Service
The UN children's agency Unicef is formally opening Africa's first air corridor, external reserved for humanitarian drones today, in Malawi.
The corridor will allow small unmanned aircraft to make deliveries of medical supplies.
It will have a radius of 40km and will test the viability of the service which could be extended.
The corridor is also be open to the private sector and universities to develop further humanitarian uses of drones.
The BBC covered the first test flights which began last year.
Good morningpublished at 08:56 British Summer Time 29 June 2017
Welcome to the BBC Africa Live page where we'll be keeping you up-to-date with news stories on the continent.
Today's African proverb:
Quote Message
When a handshake goes beyond the elbow, it becomes an insult."
Sent by Nwatu Chukwuka in Luanda, Angola
Image source, iStock
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